Holy Week, Why We Have It

Millions of Christians throughout the world are being made aware of the last days of Jesus' life on earth this week. An impressive modern version of those days was presented last Sunday night on live TV, “The Passion.” It took place in New Orleans. Add to that past spectaculars built around the life of Christ and those moments within them that zeroed in on the Cross, that unjust physical suffering Jesus endured for broken humanity. This week lots of special…

Resurrection 17 Who Says We're All Not Prodigals?

When Jesus said He was giving Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.16:19) they were keys to unlock the hearts of people hardened by self-centeredness, pride and fear. He was not starting an institution but a family of unlocked hearts who would help others with locked hearts to be freed. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal.5:1).” When Peter recognized and said to Jesus by faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the…

Resurrection 16 In a Perfect World.......

In a perfect world...sure, we all have ideas what that would look like. There would be no conflict. No need for security, it's built in. All your out-of-sync physical and emotional needs would be met because you start out being perfect. Relationships between men and women would result in having no pain and perfect children in harmonious families. Hobbies, inventions, vacations and discoveries (would they be necessary?), all exciting and life…

Resurrection 15 How's Your Air Conditioner Working?

Our air conditioning went out and we're getting prices for a new system. It ain't cheap folks! But, like all these kinds of situations, there is a spiritual parallel and I believe the more we think spiritually about our experience day by day, the more the Lord can use us while we are on the way.

Just what does an air conditioner do? An air conditioner keeps us cool, circulates, filters and dehumidifies the air, reduces the…

Resurrection 14a Have You Got 'It'? You Betcha!

What makes a person appealing? What about them draws attention? You hear someone say, 'They've got it.' What is 'it'? When you start trying to explain about 'it' the result is usually a pause because the non-verbal has overtaken the verbal. But one thing is for sure, the 'it' is real. Judges watching people perform on stage are looking for a performance-'it' that will cause them to say “They're really good. They've got 'it', which means…

Resurrection 14 Fever! Do You Have a Fever?

Folks, it's all about you. In a political season when the heat is turned up there's a virus that spreads across the land and fever results. The rhetoric flies about like bees around a disturbed hive, and it is so easy to be distracted by it all. But disciples of Jesus have a double calling in spite of the fever—-first, to look up and then to look around you. If you got the meaning of the medium being the message and that Jesus is the…

I have been attending Whitey's Bible Studies for some time now. 

I LOVE the concepts he shares that God has revealed to him.

Two have remained with me and permeated all of life. They are "every next moment" and that every person was created in the image of God, who (by the way) loves us more than we can imagine. God who is also "with us" in every next moment but that is tenseless in a way. Emmanuel is God With Us past, present and future. 

Right now I am doing a Bible…

Resurrection 13a Trump: Medium or Message?

While I was thinking about the emergence of one boisterous candidate, the 'Trump phenomenon,' on our present political landscape, I was reminded of a Canadian professor of English named Marshall McLuhan. He was considered the major prophet in communication theory in the '60's. His books radicalized (and still do)the teaching about the impact of media on society. One person called him “The High Priest of Pop Culture.” He coined the phrases…

Resurrection 12 Consistency, A Sign of the Resurrection Life

If you want to get a feel for the resurrected life of Jesus, get into His parables. When He says for instance, “Seek first the Kingdom of God,” it is His parables that get us started. In the first one we covered, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, it became obvious that Jesus was a man of the heart who saw the hearts of all mankind in need. Beaten down by robbers and passed over by the religious establishment there were no…

Resurrection 11a Politics and Headlights

Last year my car's headlights were dimming due to the pounding they get from driving through years of sand, dust and air pressure. I went to the car dealer and they put the headlight lenses through a cleaning process. They shone bright again. Our personal headlight is our relationship with the Lord Jesus. What can happen to His light in us is that it can dim if we let the cultural wars wear down the lenses He made in us to let Him shine…

Resurrection 11 Passion, Are We Breathing Spiritually?

It's been reported in the media that a certain quarterback has turned 40. Will he or will he not retire? He's too old to keep on playing. What's interesting is the context in which we view people. In sports you are decrepit when you reach middle age. Now think of business. You really are just getting under way when you're 40. In politics 40 is too young to be mature enough to be in office. Pick any profession and its context…

Resurrection 10 On the Move

One of my vacation jobs while I was in college was being a lifeguard in New England. A man, who owned a unique country lake beach with rental boats, canoes, a skating rink, a restaurant and game arcade, would come to Gainesville, Florida in the Winter and hire students to work for him in the Summer. I actually did both cooking and lifeguarding. He was always on the move from the boats and beach to the rink and restaurant. Night and day he would check each…

Resurrection 9a OK, So You Want to Be a Disciple

Since we have felt the attitudinal thrust of the Sermon on the Mount we need to follow Jesus coming off the mountain and applying His attitude in the valley of human turmoil (Matt.8:1-17). How did He live out His teaching about attitude when confronted by human needs? He had three immediate encounters, one with a leper, the second a centurion and the third a disciple's mother. Each had deep personal need but each also represented a…

Resurrection 9 Forging Ahead to Claim the Resurrected Life

To start with, we need to review. We have been given three basic life rights---the right to be a child of God, the right to a new identity, a disciple of Jesus and the right to an eternal spiritual Counselor, the Holy Spirit.

First, when we believe and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord we are images of God being given the right to a new personal and relational identity---children of God the Father. That is the most basic…

Faith in God or Faith in Man? (Resurrection 8 Continued)

So we see the uncompromising difference between secular rights and spiritual rights---self-declared importance as opposed to humble service to God. Secular rights are based on this principle: “Because I exist, the world owes me!” Spiritual rights start with this principle: “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only (Mt.4:30)!” If you view the political situation across the world, these two positions frame the battle between…

Resurrection 8 The Bill of Rights and Beyond

If you watch TV crime shows you know that when a police officer apprehends a suspect he is required to say the Miranda ruling, “You have the right to be silent, whatever you say can be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and if you can't afford one, one will provided for you. Do you understand your rights?” Those refer to your secular rights. There are of course other rights, known as the Bill…

Resurrection 7a A Late Gift

Have you opened all your Christmas gifts? In the flurry of last minute wrapping I forgot one of my gifts for Mary. I discovered it a week or so later when someone riding in the back saw it stuffed under the front seat. It was one of those 'kick-yourself' moments. Sometimes I think we are like that about the gifts God has given us. We stuff them away and forget about them.

For me, part of the Lenten exercise is to return to the basic truths we hold as…

Resurrection 7 Who Am I Really?

One of the old Twilight Zone TV episodes was about a man who was irritated by everyone he saw and wished that everyone would be like him. His wish came true and wherever he went, whether it was on a subway or a restaurant or just walking on the street, everyone looked and acted exactly like him. He saw himself in everyone. He found the reason he was so irritated with others was because he was irritated with himself so he wished everything to be like it…

From the Heart of Abba 

(During Whitey's Bible Study on Feb. 2)

When you truly go, 

Resurrection 6a Our New Identity

In one of my studies early on I came across the case of a psychiatrist who was faced with a woman in his hospital wing who was out of control. She kept shouting over and over again, “I am the 17th cousin of Queen Elizabeth.” He walked up to her, paused, looked intently into her eyes and said, “It must be terrible not to know who you are.” In that moment she looked at him, calmed down and he began helping her grapple with her greatest fear. That…